Kevin Durant spoke to reporters for the first time since injuring his right calf on May 8

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Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) grabs his right leg after injuring it in the in the third quarter of Game 5 of an NBA second round playoff series against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND – Usually, Kevin Durant handles on-court adversity by scoring over his opponent or setting up a teammate. Usually, Durant handles on-court criticism by defending himself to reporters or fans on social media.

The Warriors’ star does not have an immediate solution to his latest problem, though. What will it take for Durant to heal his strained right calf?

“I’m just taking it a second at a time. Every rep we do in the weight room, I try to focus on that rep,” Durant said after practice on Friday. I don’t know too much about this injury. I just leave it in the hands of the team doctors and I trust the direction they’re putting me in.”

There are only two things Durant says he knows about his injury that has kept him sidelined for the past five NBA playoff games.

Though the Warriors have yet to clear him for any on-court work, Durant said he is “getting better every day” in the trainer’s room and in the weight room. Durant conceded his current injury is “worse” than when he missed three games last season with a right-calf strain as well as two playoff games in the Warriors’ first-round series against Portland because of a left calf strain. This time, Durant has stayed sidelined since injuring his right calf in Game 5 of the Warriors’ second-round series against Houston on May 8.

Durant did not travel with the team during its eventual sweep against Portland in the Western Conference Finals. With the Warriors planning to reevaluate Durant on Wednesday, he said it is not clear if he will even travel with the team either to Milwaukee or Toronto for the NBA Finals. That means Durant could miss at least Game 1 (May 30) and Game 2 (June 2).

Nonetheless, Warriors coach Steve Kerr praised Durant for being “really diligent about his work in the weight room and training room.”

“He’s been doing everything possible to get back on the floor,” Kerr said. “Everybody is dying for Kevin to come back for the team’s sake and his sake. He’s trying to make it happen.”

It might bother Durant about fans and pundits that argue the Warriors are better without him after eliminating Houston in a decisive Game 6 and sweeping Portland in the Western Conference Finals. Durant sounded practical, though, about his 2 ½ week absence.

“I wouldn’t say tough,” Durant said. “You get that feeling of missing stuff on practice and shootaround and game plans and stuff like that. That’s what I miss the post, obviously bonding on the court individually and with my team. But that’s out of my hands and out of my control. I just play as hard as a I can. I happened to get injured. Now my task is to conquer this. I’m down for anything. But I’m excited about making progress.”

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Durant hardly had the same reaction when he left with 2:42 left in the third quarter of Game 5 of the Warriors’ second-round series against Houston.

After nailing a 16-foot fallaway over Rockets guard Iman Shumpert, Durant landed awkwardly on his right foot. After a few moments, Durant grimaced and looked at where he landed. The Warriors called timeout immediately as Durant limped to the sidelined. He then went to the locker room.

“Once I did it, I knew it would take time to get back to the level I was at,” Durant said. “I knew how I felt once I came down from the shot, I pushed off and ran back down the court.”

Then, Durant stared at his right foot and remembered what Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins shared about injuring his left Achilles tendon last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins, Kobe Bryant and Dominique Wilkins have all said they felt as if someone kicked them before tearing an Achilles. Durant recalled seeing the telecast of TNT commentator Reggie Miller “screaming that’s an Achilles” [injury]. Durant knew better since he did not fall to the ground immediately.

“That’s the first thing that went through my mind. Then I started walking and realized I can put weight on it,” Durant said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was pretty relieved after that.”

Durant has plenty of work before he can return to the court. Following a 12-minute interview session that marked his first public comments since the injury, Durant walked with a noticeable limp. Still, Warriors coach Steve Kerr praised Durant being “very supportive of his teammates.”

He has offered feedback during film sessions. He spoke with Warriors teammates and officials via Facetime before Game 6 against Houston. And when he watched that decisive closeout game in San Francisco, well, Durant became a little too excited about the Warriors exerting their “Strength in Numbers.”

“I learned my lesson with jumping up and reacting with plays after Game 6. So I had to stay on the couch and show my excitement level in a different way,” Durant said, laughing. “It’s good to see guys who haven’t played much throughout the season get different opportunities. It’s such a huge stage in front of so many people. The stuff I see everyday, a lot of people don’t. To show their skills is cool.”

Hence, Durant hardly sounded surprised the Warriors’ other core players in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala elevated their play. As Durant noted, “you got a veteran group of guys that have been in the fire.” Durant also praised reserves Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston, Alfonzo McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko for taking advantage of increased minutes. Durant noted they “played with confidence on the offensive side” partly because of the team’s improved defensive effort.

“We were all together,” Durant said. “It’s crazy watching it from a fans’ perspective. You see the game from a birds view. It was cool to see everything unfold from a fan perspective.”

Even with that different perspective, Durant scoffed on if he had learned anything new. After collecting two Finals MVP, a regular-season MVP and 10 All-Star appearances, Durant considered himself “a master” and “a black belt” on the hardwood.

When the Warriors nursed double-digit deficits against Portland in Games 2, 3 and 4, however, Durant suddenly became a critic.

“I’m sitting on my couch like, ‘Are we going to guard this pick and roll? Are we going to stop turning the ball over?” Durant recalled saying. “I told my friends, ‘That’s the [stuff] I do out on the court and somebody to me is probably like ‘Stop turning the rock over!’ I just try to stay engaged.”

Durant stayed engaged in more supportive ways. He shared his observations on the Warriors’ pick-and-roll coverages. He talked to teammates privately after film sessions. When he attended the Warriors’ home playoff games, Durant praised their play in the locker room. Following the Warriors’ Game 2 win over Portland, Durant boasted that the Trail Blazers won’t be able to make the NBA Finals.

Durant seemingly did everything except giving his teammates constant pep talks or text messages throughout the day. As Durant said with amusement, “I’m not that type of guy.”

The dudes aren’t here trying to hear me talk about what they should be doing on the basketball court all day, whether I’m playing or not,” Durant said. “I just try to see a struggle. If I see something I need to talk to them about, I try to engage with them in front of them.”

Durant hopes to engage with them soon by actually playing. For better or for worse, the Warriors will have more answers in five days.